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Post by Solaris on Jan 26, 2023 1:37:49 GMT
Prey 2, 2021 | Galaria But being a predator does not mean they are evil. The words buzzed around her head when she thought of the fox’s scared gaze again, still remembering the way the fox’s fangs shone under the sunlight, its lips drawn in a cruel smile. The stench lingered. She saw its fear, the same way she saw a creature trying to hurt her. Was Morpheus right? Was the fox evil or not?
She snapped out of her philosophical questions when Morpheus called her a “kitten.” The word made her fur bristle.
“I’m not a tiny kitten!” she huffed, acutely aware of the irony having to lift her head up to meet Morpheus’s eyes. But, of course, he was right about how the fox gave up after she bought. She thought seriously about this—if a mouse fought back at Luna for trying to hunt them, she would run off as well. Being defeated by a mouse was not an stint she wanted stained in her memories. She lowered her head when he complimented her. “But, thank you, Morpheus.”
“You think I have a great start already?” A new surge of energy went through her, her whole body perking up with an impatient determination to train again. She abandoned the squirrel, leaving it near her paws, as she straightened up her back and puffed out her chest in pride, but not without wincing from the soreness wrapping in her muscles. “I want to train again! I want to able to find the weaknesses in my opponents, so that I won’t be scared by anyone else.”
A small gasp escaped her mouth. “You? You couldn’t pin your sister down?”
Luna listened intently to his story about his sister, and she saw how his whole body shifted to something else. Pride, perhaps? A familial pride. She tilted her head, wishing to have met her.
“Really?”
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Galaria
New Warrior
96 Posts
About Me
Hello! Call me Gala or Sass! I'm one of the originals of the Ren! I'm very happy to be back. I am a 25-year-old, intermediate-level of writing with many ideas and much time on her hands! Please, come stop by and say hi! I love making new friends and plotting!
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Post by Galaria on Jan 29, 2023 1:38:06 GMT
 "I am too INSANE to explain and you are too NORMAL to understand." |
OOC: Sorry for the wait on the reply here! | TAGS: Solaris |
It was cute how eager Luna was. She was young and impressionable. With Morpheus being all she knew it made sense. He was happy to be of use and better yet being relied upon - he prayed he would not fail her as he had done his sister. He had been truthful when he said Luna and his sister were alike in many ways and that they would have gotten along. As headstrong and determined as a feline Luna was there was obviously an naivety about her that showed just how much she still needed to learn about the world. The only difference was Morpheus already learned from his mistakes once and he wasn't keen to try his paw at fate again with Luna.
He huffed out a breath through twitching whiskers of amusement at her sudden enthusiasm to train again. He knew she was very tired and sore from her first-day training but he was not a brute who'd allow such a young cat like herself push too far beyond her limits. He was all about pushing limits sure but not when it was the first for something. "As admirable as your enthusiasm is, Luna. I will not push you too far in such a short time. I will give you a day or two for rest before I train you again. But we must work on your stamina and that will entail lots of running. Now that I know what you are capable of I must be creative with how I go about training you. Learning to control your stamina reserves as much as control your breathing is as crucial as battle moves are." he told her with a slow blink of amusement.
"Learning to battle doesn't mean you are learning to stop fearing others, either. It simply means that even as human as you are to fear something you have the strength to overcome that fear. Never forget that. The day you lose your fear is the day you lose what it means to be a cat." he stretched his paws and flexed his claws with a long sigh as he settled himself into a more comfortable position.
Her wide eyes met his and he chuckled at her wonderment. He did not often speak of his family or his past; of how he came to be alone and how he came to find Luna. As precious as the young feline was to him the cause of him finding her was a dark truth he wasn't ready to share. But he enjoyed speaking about his sister when the chance arose.
He hummed lightly and gave a nod to her. "Her name was Calypso. She...the complete opposite of myself. Like the sun and the moon. While I was always the level-headed kit growing up who used my wits about me to stay out of trouble Calypso had always been the more daring one. The adventurer that often got us both in trouble and made me have to save our tails too many times. She always had this sense of determination about her that set her resolve to beat me no matter what it was; a competitor at heart as much as someone who wanted to grow as a person. I always admired her for it even I never confessed such a thing." his smile was almost sad as he remembered her.
"She had a good heart. I pray that she is well. We parted ways many many moons ago after our parents' deaths." he mumbled staring into the darkness as he remembered his sister's bright persona and energy similar to Luna. Sometimes when he stared at Luna too long he'd think he was seeing his younger sister all over again before their father's cruelty affected her. template by Magpie of Adoxography |
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Post by Solaris on Feb 7, 2023 16:56:29 GMT
Prey 2, 2021 | Galaria Luna’s enthusiasm faltered slightly at the mention of having to run a lot. Maybe it would beat having to travel long distances with Morpheus for food, but she knew that after days of running, her legs would be stinging like wasp needles puncturing her skin. She sighed, prepared to make some sacrifices for the sake of training. Morpheus went on about needing to work on stamina and control and stuff, but she already lost interest by that time.
His words weighed heavily on her shoulder, sending an inexplicable chill down her spine. The day you lose your fear is the day you lose what it means to be a cat. She would disagree. The fear that first froze her limbs when she faced the fox was a feeling she didn’t want to have ever again. But still, like everything else he’s said, she couldn’t get the words out of her head. She tried brushing it off, boredly pawing the sprouts of grass. “Okay, okay, Dad. That’s enough lectures for today.”
“Calypso?” The name was alien to her, but she heard the gravity in Morpheus’s voice when he said it, and wordlessly, she knew of her importance. She watched her father as he spoke, drawn in by the melancholy cast over his face. “She seems like someone I could look up to.”
She eyed Morpheus. “I wish I could have met her.
She moved a whisker-length closer to Morpheus, almost hesitantly and tentatively, before bearing through to ask the question. It was a side of Morpheus she rarely saw before, and she wanted to know more. Sometimes, he acted like a gorge, his core hidden by layers of tough rock and hardened clay. This was her chance to dig deeper into his squishy center. “Why did you ever part from her? And what’s stopping you from seeing her again?
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Galaria
New Warrior
96 Posts
About Me
Hello! Call me Gala or Sass! I'm one of the originals of the Ren! I'm very happy to be back. I am a 25-year-old, intermediate-level of writing with many ideas and much time on her hands! Please, come stop by and say hi! I love making new friends and plotting!
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Post by Galaria on Feb 7, 2023 18:31:40 GMT
"I am too INSANE to explain and you are too NORMAL to understand." |
Morpheus was a cat who had suffered much but had overcome such things but not without invisible scars that wouldn't seem to heal despite him pretending they didn't exist. He knew they were there; festering like a wound infected. He never wanted Luna to see that side of him. Fearing that perhaps if he told her of his past she would fear him. Perhaps even find that he was a bit of a monster. He looked at her with a look that showed the struggle he was facing as he registered her words. She wanted to know more about him; despite raising her he realized she honestly didn't know anything about his past. Only at what he showed at face value due to him wanting to keep her safe from that side of him. If he refused to tell her would he be making the same mistake as before by keeping her at arm's distance from the darkness that lurked inside of him? Perhaps, but as he stared at her hesitant but inquisitive eyes he had to gather what resolve he had. He was so silent for a while to the point that it looked as if he wouldn't answer but then he sighed and beckoned her over with a flick of his tail.
"Alright, if you truly want to know. But I want you, it's not a short story with a happy ending." he warned half fearing she may have nightmares or something afterward.
But still, he continued with his face turned towards the darkened sky. "Once upon a time, there were two cats named The Dark One and The Ray of Light who hailed from one of the old forgotten clans. For generations their families had been friends so they became mates and had two kits they named The Sun and The Moon. These two kits were as different as could be both in personalities as much as their looks. They were a happy family though, at least in the beginning. The Moon enjoyed philosophy; debating things such as life and death, especially with his sister The Sun. That was until one day The Ray of Light passed away during one cold cold Leaf-Bare. The Moon took it the hardest between the siblings despite his connection with his sister The Sun. The Moon kit was closer to his mother. As he and his sister grew The Moon began to see signs of decay within the roots of his family. He, without realizing at first began to change too; from being The Moon who was supposed to be filled with wisdom and strength began to replace The Dark One's position as not only the provider but the protector and teacher of his sister The Sun due to The Dark One's sanity deteriorating from grieve and madness of his mate's death."
Morpheus lowered his gaze to catch Luna watching him and his whiskers twitched a bit with a smile of irony as he continued his story.
"Due to The Dark One's mind being lost it threw a massive tear between the older tom and his children; especially The Moon who had been unknowingly forced to become not only a brother, but a father and mother as well to his sister The Sun due to their father's neglect and spiral of madness. Because of the position The Moon had been placed in as he grew into an adult he found he too was starting to resemble his father; he was old, selfish, and wary of the world. But no matter what The Dark One did or said to his children nothing would bring back The Ray of Light he loved so much. When it became too much The Moon took his father out - away from home without The Sun's knowledge and went in search of the Tall Ones who walked on Two Legs in hopes that the rumors of them taking in strays would allow The Dark One to find rest. But The Moon was scared and left his father without checking to see whether he found someone to take him in. He went back to The Sun and told her that their father had been taken in by the Tall Ones and was getting treatment. A few days later The Moon returned to the place he dropped his father at only to find that no Tall One who walked on Two Legs had found him. Instead, The Moon found nothing but the unresponsible corpse of his father on the Black Snake; nothing but a mess of crows food. The Moon child filled with guilt and horror at the realization he'd practically led to their father's death did not tell his sister the truth and instead took her away from the place in hopes to find a better future for them. When The Sun was old enough she chose to part ways to find her own path leaving her brother The Moon alone, as he so deserved."
Morpheus stopped talking after that for a while as if remembering the days. The sound of crickets chirping nearby was the only sound besides their breathing in the stillness of the night. Swallowing thickly Morpheus continued.
"Alone and filled with guilty and plaguing nightmares of that night The Moon wandered the earth seeking....something. For Something, he did not know himself. That is when on one fated night he stumbled upon a discarded box which inside lay a feline and her kits. But the mother had passed from neglect and without the mother's nourishment so did most of the litter. All except for one." his gaze fell heavy with meaning on the smaller feline beside him.
"He'd like to think it was his mother The Ray of Light who had brought the little star to him as if telling him it wasn't his fault...But, who knows." he shrugged looking away. "It's just a story after all...."
He rose to his feet and stretched with a few snapping pops of his worn muscles. "Come on, you've had a long day. Let's try and get some sleep if you can." he was changing the subject; afraid of what her response would be or the questions he knew would come.
So he padded back to their little sleeping nook and climbed inside its interior to get comfortable. He gazed at Luna a short moment before closing his eyes and turning his head away as if pretending to try and sleep. The truth was there would be no sleep for him tonight. Too many what if's rolled around his head as he felt the twinge in his heart at recalling his past. template by Magpie of Adoxography |
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Post by Solaris on Feb 19, 2023 7:24:12 GMT
Prey 2, 2021 | Galaria When at last, Morpheus spoke, she quickly sat down and looked up, the way Luna did when she was a young kit eager to listen to a nursery story. She glanced at the shining stars above, where the sky was now as dark as a raven’s feathers. Her gaze returned to Morpheus, hazel eyes blazing with certainty, “I don’t mind if the story is sad or long. You have the rest of the night to tell it, and I have the rest of the night to hear it.”
As Morpheus began, she patiently listened.
She listened as he retold the story of The Dark One and Thr Ray of Light, and at first, she was confused. Was this a real story, or was it one he was making up? Why did these cats have such strange names? Out of respect for her father, she chose not to interrupt him with questions.
The story of The Sun and The Moon continued, and it became undeniable that Morpheus was talking about himself. Eventually, it became clear who was The Moon and who was The Sun. She felt sorry for the Moon cat, who had lost a mother he had treasured deeply. She thought of her own family, of a mother she could never picture, of a litter she could never remember, of the coldness of living in twolegplace. It was these memories that sparked an aching in her chest, a low yet noticeable feeling, like one of a familiar dreadfulness. The kind that sucked on your bones and drew out your blood.
Morpheus went on, describing The Dark One’s grief, and the Moon’s responsibility to act as an adult. Luna’s tail rested on his shoulder, her brows furrowing as she realized what her father had been through. She had seen the darkness cast over his eyes, surrounding his being like a shadow, but she never had the chance to find out why. Not until now.
Then he reached the part where The Sun left The Moon and before she could stop herself and ask if Morpheus wanted comfort, she rushed over to rest her chin on Morpheus’s shoulder, reaching up from the top of her toes to do so. She purred, her neck pressed up against his fur, a steady rhythm vibrating from her throat. She lay there with him, breathing in the stillness.
Luna knew this part of the story, and she closed her eyes.
She pulled away from Morpheus, keeping the natural distance they usually had. She watched him, or at least… She tried to. She really tried, but by the time he finished the story, her eyes struggled to stay open. A soft yawn escaped her jaws. She lay back on the ground, curling up into a moss ball, and tried pushing out the mind-numbing fatigue from her senses like she were trying to climb up a steep, smooth tree. Unable to keep her grip on the waking world, the last thing she saw before she slipped into sleep was Morpheus’s gaze.
She whispered to him, “Good night. I love you.”
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Galaria
New Warrior
96 Posts
About Me
Hello! Call me Gala or Sass! I'm one of the originals of the Ren! I'm very happy to be back. I am a 25-year-old, intermediate-level of writing with many ideas and much time on her hands! Please, come stop by and say hi! I love making new friends and plotting!
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Post by Galaria on Mar 5, 2023 2:36:11 GMT
"I am too INSANE to explain and you are too NORMAL to understand." |
When kits are young they don't see the world as a dark or cruel place and when their dreams and expectations crash around them they often feel as if their world is falling apart as well; they do not know who they are and more often than not are forced to take a role they were never designed to take. If Morpheus was as strong as his sister he could have fought back. If he was more educated of the world he wouldn't have allowed his father to fall apart as he had. If only...if only...they were words that had haunted the tom ever since his mother's death. He often thought he needed to be stronger so that what happened to him would never happen to Luna or anyone else he may associate with. But the fact of his general aura often came from the need to be something to someone even if he didn't yet know it. He was emotional; not for the reason of face but all the feelings he couldn't express - all the words he couldn't or should have said growing up just building up.
he hadn't wanted to tell Luna the dark past he had to endure. He didn't want to give her nightmares to for her to feel sorry for him - nothing could change what happened and there is little he can do now except learn from his past to allow Luna a better future; because she is all he has. Whether it was his mother above sending her to him or by fate itself thinking he needed a second chance was something the dark tom did not wish to mull over. The facts still stood that she was with him and despite listening to his story and his end brush off to stay strong...she never coward away from him.
And as he curled himself up into the nook that was their nest for the night- knowing sleep would not come to him so easily even with the trying day they had. His golden eyes watching he from his periphery as the slight female made herself comfortable. He remembered how easy her affection came regardless of what he had told her and he knew that whatever road they traveled; whether filled with trouble or light hearted memories. Morpheus was not alone anymore and maybe not he could finally breathe knowing that Luna knew the truth. Whether he had episodes later on or if he grew distant in the future she would know he did not mean to hurt her.
He never thought himself as a father figure before - or to have a love of another being at the palm of his paw pads but Luna gave him a sense of acceptance and perhaps as he watches her, teaches her, and eventually...have to let her go when she is grow. He will be ready to shed the darkness that shrouds him like a second fur. But until that day comes...he's thankful he isn't alone anymore. Whether in this world or the darkness of his mind. template by Magpie of Adoxography |
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